There Never Was a Sweeter Apple
by Jezebele Destiny White
Summary: Applejack's tenth birthday started out badly. She got in trouble with her mother and father, but at school, the cutest colt in fourth grade suddenly had an interest in her. Will it turn out to be the best birthday ever, or take a turn for the worst? Will the last words Applejack shares with her parents be ugly ones? One mistake could change Applejack's simple life forever. One-shot


**So here's my second MLP FiM fanfic, and yes, it's another one-shot. This one features young Applejack, my second favorite character (after Pinkie Pie). I've had the idea for this short story for a while, but I changed the plotline a little bit. Anyways, I hope you like this one! I'm pretty proud of it!**

* * *

"Did ya finish yer chores, Lil' Jack?" Mother asked, her eyebrows furrowing towards the middle of her face. Applejack gulped, and smiled innocently at her mother. She shoved Apple Bloom's maimed dolly under her bed.

"Uh... yes, ma'am?" Applejack lied, trying to wipe the smudged ink from her hooves. Mother's eye brows furrowed even further.

"Oh, really?" she chided, her smooth, honey-sweet accent rolling off her tongue gracefully. "If ya did do yer chores, then why is there no milk in the milk bucket? Ya _did_ milk Betsy, didn't ya?"

Mother was the prettiest mare Applejack had ever seen. Her silky, crimson mane hung in two perfect braids that cascaded down on either side of her slender, angular face. Her tangerine-colored fur always had a natural shimmer to it. The large, fuchsia hair bow that was tied against the back of her head complimented golden eyes that had flecks of pink in them. Applejack wished she looked more like her mother.

Applejack shared her mother's orange coat, but her mane was a pale yellow straw-colored mess. Her eyes were pale green, and her cheeks were speckled with white flecks. She looked much more like her father.

"Yes, I did milk Betsy," Applejack lied again. She shuffled her hooves, trying to think of an excuse. "But I, uh- I spilled the milk... and then I cleaned up the spill."

Mother sighed. She closed her eyes and lifted a hoof to massage her temple, as if she had a headache. Without opening her eyes, Mother asked, "What's under the bed, Lil' Jack?"

Applejack swallowed and looked at the floor shamefully. She grabbed the doll and slowly pulled it out from behind her, revealing her handiwork.

Apple Bloom's doll had already been a drab little thing to start; a hand-sewn pegasus doll with yarn for a mane and tail and buttons for eyes. Apple Bloom had named it Penny Pegasus, or in her words, "Peenee Pegathith". Now most of its stuffing had been yanked out, one of its button eyes was gone, and it had been scribbled all over with a black marker.

Mother gasped in horror, snatching the doll away from Applejack and cradling it in her front legs. "What did ya do tah Apple Bloom's doll?! Granny Smith made this fer her birthday!" she exclaimed. She glared at Applejack with her gorgeous eyes. "By Celestia, why did ya do this? Yer grounded, young filly, fer the next two months!"

Applejack glared back at her mother. "But-" she started to object.

"No 'but's. Do ya want me to add another month?" Mother threatened. Applejack groaned in exasperation, and shook her head.

"No, ma'am."

"Then git ready fer school! Ya'll gonna be late! N' tie up yerr mane!" With that, Applejack's mother tossed her an elastic hair band and stomped out of the room, the old floor-boards creaking in her wake.

Applejack sniffled, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. Her mother obviously didn't love her. She loved Apple Bloom. It was silly for Applejack to be jealous of her sister, who was eight years younger than herself, but she couldn't help it.

After all, if her mother did love her, would she have forgotten that today was her birthday?

Applejack stood in front the mirror to tie her hair up into a ponytail. She hated wearing her hair up. She thought it made her look too girly. Her reflection was fractured from the big crack that ran across the width of the mirror in a jagged, diagonal line. The last few years' harvests had been terrible. There wasn't enough money to buy any luxurious items, like a new mirror, or new clothes.

Applejack opened the doors of the wardrobe that she and Apple Bloom shared. It was empty except for a few things. On Apple Bloom's side, there were several hair bows, cute dresses, and pairs of shoes. On Applejack's side, she had one dress that was her Sunday best, one pair of shoes to wear when it was cold, and a couple of shirts.

Ponies didn't regularly where clothing, unless it was a special occasion. If you had a lot of money, though, then you could afford to buy clothes to wear at all times. The popular kids in Applejack's fourth grade class wore clothes.

Wanting to feel special for her birthday, Applejack decided to see if she had anything to wear. She didn't want to wear her best dress. It was pink and frilly and covered in bows. She didn't want to wear her _Sweet Apple Acres _T-shirt, or the purple blouse with a bunny on it, or the striped sweater that Granny Smith had knitted for her. She definitely wasn't going to where her two-sizes-too-small snow boots.

Nope, nothing to wear. That was the consequence of living on a tiny farm in a tiny town with terrible crop-growing weather. You never had the money to buy anything you wanted.

Angry, Applejack thought of her mother's silver locket, the nicest thing in the house. She thought of all the nice things the kids at school would say about how pretty it was, how expensive it looked. She thought of how Tony Equus, the cutest colt in the school and her long time crush, would smile at her as she walked down the hallway graced with that shiny locket.

Pleased with herself at thinking up such a plan, she grabbed her book bag, and slunk out of the room. She slunk past the bathroom, where Big Mac was freshening up after having worked with their father in the fields all morning. She slunk past the sitting room, where Granny Smith was humming as she knitted something – Applejack hoped whatever it was, it wasn't for her. She slunk past the kitchen, where she could hear the muffled voices of her parents, probably discussing what Applejack had done to Apple Bloom's doll. Then, at last, she reached the master bedroom.

Mr. and Mrs. Apple's bedroom was the nicest, largest room in their ancient little house. It was still rather rundown, with faded, pealing wallpaper and chipping, worn furniture, but it was cozy and had a happy feeling to it. The queen-size bed, along with the dresser, were both carved from apple wood, most likely from trees grown right at Sweet Apple Acres. The drapes and the bed spread were quilted by Granny Smith herself, and the woolen carpeting knitted by her, too.

Without hesitating, Applejack went straight to the drawer in the bed side table. After sorting through various letters, notebooks, articles of clothing and jewelry, and an apple core, Applejack came upon the silver locket.

The locket was old, having been passed down from the Apple family since before they came to Ponyville, but still in pristine condition. It was made out pure silver, and shaped like at apple. It's smooth surface was carved with an intricate, curlycue pattern. The locket hung from a dainty silver chain, and opened up to reveal an old, sepia-toned picture of some Apple ancestor.

Applejack stuffed the locket into her book bag, shut the drawer and raced out of the room. She had just enough time to grab her lunch pale from the kitchen, get to the door, and smooth her hair in time for her mother to appear to inspect her.

"Ya tied up yer hair, yes, ya did. Well done! But ya better hurry up and get goin'! School starts in ten minutes!" her mother told her.

It was an eight-minute walk to school, and Applejack couldn't afford to be late for the third time that week, so she decided to start off instead of waiting for Mac to finish getting ready.

Applejack ran fast enough to cut the time in half, but luckily not fast enough to make her red-faced and sweating by the time she got to school. The morning air was chill, and it filled her lungs and sped her feed forward with enthusiasm. Applejack landed in her seat between Tony Equus and Lyra Heartstrings four minutes to the first bell.

Making sure that no one was watching, Applejack pulled the band out of her hair and retrieved the locket from her bag and hurriedly fastened it around her neck. It's coolness prickled against the skin of her chest, as though the guilt was seeping out of her and surrounding her with a thick, suffocating aura.

Tony turned in his seat to look back at Applejack. His honey-brown eyes burned into her, and she could feel her face reddening.

"Hullo, Tony," she greeted meekly. Instead of sounding confident and flirtatious, she sounded anxious and desperate. She shivered, organizing her thoughts, and then repeated in a louder voice, "Hiya, Tony! What's hangin'?"

Tony laughed, like she had told a funny joke. "Hi, Applejack. What's that you got around your neck?" he asked, gesturing to her mother's silver locket.

Applejack shrugged, and couldn't help but grinning at the attention she was already receiving. "Ah, nothin', just a lil' somethin' I found in the back o' my closet," she cooed, leaning forward and resting her head in her hooves casually.

Tony laughed again. "It looks really nice on you," he whispered, leaning forward even further so that their snouts were only about six inches apart. Applejack's face got even redder. He thought she looked nice!

Not knowing how to reply to such a compliment, Applejack stayed silent. They just stared at each other and smiled for the remaining minutes, until Mrs. Bubbles entered the room.

"Good morning, class!" the schoolteacher said loudly, addressing the fourth and fifth grade student body. "Take out your workbooks and turn to page ninety-two!"

Applejack usually hated school. She was no good at reading, writing, arithmetic, or any of that other stuff, and she was constantly being teased for her family's lack of wealth. She had no good friends. She didn't even have her brother at school because he was at the Ponyville Middle School. Regardless of all of those factors, today was shaping up to be a great day.

* * *

When the lunch bell rang, Applejack grabbed her lunch pale, and followed the other fourth and fifth grade kids out into the schoolyard. Grades first through fifth all ate at the same time. Being a misfit, Applejack didn't eat anywhere near the other colts and fillies in her class. Instead, she and two third-grade fillies, Hot Cocoa and Gossamer, always ate together on a bench near the stream behind the swing-set. As she neared her friends, she saw Hot Cocoa pat the spot on the bench beside her and beckon Applejack. Applejack smiled, and took a few steps toward her usual eating place, before she heard Tony Equus' voice.

"Applejack!" he called. "Come and eat over here, with us!" Applejack looked back at Tony, sitting amongst his friends and some other more popular foals, and then back to the lonely bench where Hot Cocoa and Gossamer were sitting. Tony's party was much more appealing.

Applejack shrugged apologetically to the two younger fillies, and then rushed eagerly to join Tony and his posse.

Applejack sat down beside Tony, making sure to keep a polite distance away from him. She opened her lunch pale and began to eat her apple salad sandwich wordlessly. Tony didn't speak either, just sat there staring at her while he ate his lunch.

At last, he finally spoke. "Thalia Clearwing really likes your necklace. She _wants _it," Tony said, staring down at the locket. Thalia Clearwing was sitting on the other side of Tony, staring at the locket as well. Applejack blushed again.

"Ya do? Well, thank ya'll!" Applejack replied, flipping her hair and smirking at Thalia. Thalia glared at her, as if it were insulting that Applejack dare talk to her directly. Applejack cocked her head in confusion.

"No, she _wants _it, Applejack. Give it here, now," Tony ordered, holding out his hoof expectantly. Applejack stood still for a few seconds, perplexed. Tony leaned closer to her again. "You'd do it for me, wouldn't you?" he asked, his voice soft.

Applejack swallowed, still stunned. In an almost robotic motion, she undid the clasp at the base of her neck, and held it in her hoof, still uncertain. When she didn't act immediately, Tony snatched the locket away, and handed it to Thalia, who let out a high-pitched squeal of triumph, and strung it lovingly over her own neck.

"Hey!" Applejack objected. She stood up abruptly, and her metal lunch pale fell out of her lap and landed on the ground with a _pang. _"Gimme that back!"

The dashing, seductive grin was still plastered on Tony's face as he looked at her graciously. "Thanks, Applejack. That'll be all! Run along now!" he crooned, flicking his wrist dismissively.

Applejack seethed. She _did not _like to be dismissed, and definitely did not like being taken advantage of. She stepped closer to Thalia until they were nose-to-nose. Thalia wailed, and tried to scrabble away, like she was going to be infected, but Applejack had her pinned.

"Ya give me my locket back right now, ya twit!" she spat.

Thalia crossed her front legs haughtily. "Oh yeah? Or what, you little hobo?!" she goaded. Applejack didn't give any warning, she simply flew at her. Thalia didn't even have the chance to yell before Applejack began yanking at her hair and tearing at her puffy yellow dress. Thalia howled in pain, but Applejack didn't have the chance to do any major damage before Tony and few other foals tugged her away.

Thalia sprinted away, screaming, towards the stream. Applejack broke free and bounded after her, knowing that she could trap Thalia between herself and the creek. Thalia paused at the stream bank, and took off the locket. Applejack stopped a few feet away from her, not comprehending Thalia's intentions. But she understood soon enough as Thalia dangled the locket above the stream. As if on cue, the water surged upward as it hit a stone in its path, prepared to swallow the locket up and carry it down to the depths of the water.

"Not another step, hobo, or I drop your precious little necklace!" Thalia warned, a sly look of pleasure creeping onto her face. Applejack froze, her eyes fastened on her necklace. "That's right, stay where you are! Now say, 'I am a poor little penniless hobo,'" Applejack commanded.

Applejack glowered at Thalia, trembling with fury, but she had no choice but to do as she was told. "I'm a poor lil' penniless hobo," she said softly, feeling her heart sink.

"What was that?" Thalia asked mockingly, cupping her free hoof around her ear. "I'm sorry, I couldn't quite hear you."

Applejack bit her lip to keep from snapping at Thalia, and cleared her throat. She couldn't take much more of this. "I'm a poor lil' penniless hobo!" she snarled, barely able to restrain herself.

"That's better," Thalia said in satisfaction, but she didn't raise the locket from the creek.

"Okay, Thalia!" Applejack barked. "I did whatchya wanted, now gimme my locket back!"

Thalia put on a mock pouty face. "Oh, I didn't say I would give it back to you, did I?" she reminded Applejack. "Whoops!" Thalia exclaimed as she allowed the silver locket to slip out of her hoof and into the churning waves below.

Applejack let out a small gasp of horror, diving after her mother's locket. She was second too late, and tumbled into the freezing water after it. The current smacked her back and forth against rocks and driftwood. She surfaced, but hardly had the time to catch her breath before she was forced back under. It wasn't long before she was tossed back onto the shore, coughing and spluttering, covered head to toe by bumps and bruises.

A shadow fell across Applejack's wilted form. She looked up to find Mrs. Bubbles staring sternly down at her. "Young filly, what in Equestria were you thinking?! You could have drowned!" she scolded. "You go on home now, tell your mother and father what happened. Come back tomorrow with some sense!"

Applejack sat up, every bone in her body aching. The last place she wanted to be right now was home. No one loved her there. And they would all love her even less when they found out that she had lost the silver locket.

This was the worst birthday ever.

Applejack, still sopping wet, collected the remnants of her lunch and grabbed her book bag. She didn't want her parents to know that she had been sent home early, so she just hung out behind the school for the last few hours, flipping through the pages in her workbooks and whistling her favorite songs.

When the ending bell finally rang, she trudged home very slowly, doubling how much time it should have taken for her to get home. As she trudged, the sky darkened early, swarming with inky black clouds, mirroring Applejack's sour mood.

When she arrived at the house, it seemed as dull and unwelcoming as always. Upon entering, Mother strutted up to her, a scowl dominating her pretty face.

"Applejack!" she whinnied coldly. "What do ya have tah say fer yourself?!"

Applejack looked at her feet. Did her mother know about the locket?

Mother's face broke into a smile. "Well?" she asked, the harshness gone from her voice. "What gave ya the idea thatchya got to be late fer yer own birthday?" Suddenly, a kazoo sounded from the kitchen. Granny Smith trotted out, still emitting silly, buzzing melodies from her plastic instrument, followed by Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Pa, who each carried a wrapped birthday gift.

"Happy Birthday, Applejack!" the four chorused, except for Apple Bloom, who gurgled, "Habby Berfday, Abbledat!"

Applejack's heart bubbled up with joyful surprise, but at the same time was dragged down by a wagon-load of guilt.

"Bu-but-" she stammered, speechless. "Thank ya! I thought ya'll had gone n' forgotten!"

Pa chuckled his deep, throaty laugh and embraced Applejack in a huge bear hug. "Aw, Lil' Jack, we'd never forgit yer birthday! Ya ready fer yer presents?"

Applejack got to sit in Pa's humongous, intensely comfortable arm chair and open up her three birthday gifts, as it began to drizzle outside. She chose the biggest gift first. It was cube-shaped and wrapped in shimmery silver paper and a white satin ribbon. Applejack tore through the thin paper easily to find a plain cardboard box. The box opened up to reveal a doll, her very own doll.

It was an alicorn doll, with a long, soft bright pink mane, and fuzzy yellow fur, with a starburst cutie mark. When you squeezed its front hoof, it said, "_My name is Topaz! I want to be your friend!_"

The second present didn't have fancy wrapping, and wasn't considerably large. It was simply an unremarkable brown paper parcel tied up with a string. Though inside, was the most elegant dress that had ever came into the Apple house. Or at least, Applejack guessed it was. The dress was made from a very soft, light fabric that was made to be floaty and flexible. It was colored emerald, with a transparent turquoise over-skirt. The white sash contrasted beautifully with the deep green of the sleeveless top. Applejack fell in love with the dress as soon as she laid eyes on it.

The last and smallest gift was in a plastic tissue-paper-lined gift bag that was patterned with brightly colored polka dots. It held a china jewelry box. When opened, the jewelry box played a sweet, tinkling little tune that resembled the nursery song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

Afterwards, it was suppertime. Applejack and the rest of her family dined on roasted asparagus, strawberry spinach salad, mashed sweet potatoes, pecan pie, apple cinnamon bread, sparkling apple cider, and cherry lemonade, all of Applejack's favorite things to eat and drink.

Once supper was through, Pa took off his yoke and his battered old hat, and brought out his fiddle and played old, yet upbeat, folk songs. Applejack put on her new dress and she, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom danced around until they were so exhausted that they collapsed.

When they were too tired to dance any longer, the foals sat around the crackling fire munching on fried apple slices and popcorn, listening to Granny Smith tell tales of when she was a just a filly, as the drizzle, which was now a downpour, pounded on the roof.

Half-way through her third story, Granny Smith was interrupted by a bone-rattling clap of thunder. The power went out, and Apple Bloom woke up crying.

"Look's like we're gittin' a lightnin' storm!" Pa announced, slapping his knee. Mother scooped Apple Bloom up, hushing her cries with a soft lullaby. "Twist, I think there's a few candles in the bed-side table drawer," Pa told Mother.

"Okay, I'll go git them!" Mother said, setting Apple Bloom back down and starting off into the darkness towards the master bedroom.

Applejack's memory flicked to the locket. If Mother found it missing when she looked in the drawer, she'd be in a heap of trouble. "Wait!" she cried. Mother paused, looking back at her in confusion. Applejack froze. What could she say that would stop Mother from going to look in the drawer? She knew that the best option was to simply tell the truth. She would be found out sooner or later anyways.

"What is it, Lil' Jack?" Mother asked, the dim light glinting off of her golden eyes.

Applejack took a deep breath. "I lost yer silver locket," she confessed, her voice trembling. This had been the perfect evening, and she was ruining it. "I brought it tah school n' lost it in the stream."

"What?!" Pa snapped, sitting up. Even without the light, Applejack could sense his disbelief. "Why would ya bring it tah school?"

There was no reason to try and lie. "Because I wanted tah look nice fer my birthday, but I had nothing tah wear, so I took the locket," Applejack explained, feeling numb with regret.

"Why didn't ya just tell us how ya felt?! That family heirloom has been passed down fer more than fifty years!" Mother exclaimed, her voice ragged with exasperation.

Applejack looked down at her feet and said nothing. She had no explanation for her actions. She had just been angry, and did something stupid.

"Applejack, I'm very disappointed in ya," Mother huffed. "I just don't know-"

"Pa!" Big Mac wailed from where he stood looking out the window. All faces turned to him. His distressed expression was illuminated by the brightening orange light coming from outside. Applejack followed his gaze out to the southern orchard, where flames danced brilliantly among the trees. Black smoke billowed up into the sky, blotting out the crescent moon that shed it's ghostly glow across the catastrophic waltz occurring on the ground.

"FIRE!" Pa shrieked. In his panic, he dumped a bucket of charcoal onto the floor and charged into the kitchen to fill it with water. Mother took off her pink bow and slung on a rubber rain poncho.

"Mom, ya stay with the kids n' call the fireponies! Me n' Johnny'll go out tah try n' stop the fire!" Mother told Granny Smith as she gathered various cups, pans, and other containers from around the room.

"I'll watch o'er 'em, Twist! Just be careful!" Granny called as she rushed for the telephone. Applejack still couldn't move. She could hardly stand up straight. Apple Bloom began crying again.

"Pa, let me come with ya, I'll help put the fire out!" Mac pleaded as Pa darted through the sitting room carrying the now full bucket out the door.

Pa shook his head vigorously, slapping on his worn, patched wool coat. "Ya'll stay right here with yer Granny n' sisters! Don't worry 'bout us, just keep 'em safe!" he commanded. Mother held the front door for him, and they both disappeared into the blur of the storm.

"No, _Sweet _Apple Acres!" Granny Smith shouted into the phone's reciever. "Yeah, jus' beyond Fleabitten Drive. I guess the lightnin' coulda started the fire. No, I dunno 'bout no safety code, just get yer flank o'er here! Yeah, I understand. Good-bye!" Granny Smith slammed the phone down. "Some folks jus' ain't got no decorum!" she ranted bad-temperedly, though her eyes glistened with fear.

Applejack and Big Mac watched solemnly as the silhouettes of their parents flickered against the frame of the flames, until they were consumed by the shadows and no longer visible. They continued to stare, waiting half-heartedly for them to reemerge.

Applejack felt Granny Smith's warm hoof on her shoulder. "Let's get ya'll off tah bed, now. In the mornin', yer Mama and Papa'll be be back here. Them fireponies will take care o' the fire," she assured them, guiding them gently away from the window and down the dark hall.

Applejack and Big Mac made a bed out of spare linens and pillows on the floor in Granny Smith's room, and Granny and Apple Bloom bedded down on the bed.

Applejack snuggled against her older brother. On any other day, she would be humiliated and disgusted at having needed his comfort, but today was different. She closed her eyes, and willed herself to sleep. For many long hours, she lay awake, tossing and turning, unable to shake off the terrible feeling that something was wrong. All through the night, the fire roared as it crawled closer, and the firetruck sirens screamed. Eventually, Applejack and sleep found each other, and she fell into an uncomfortable, restless slumber.

In the morning, Mother and Pa were not back. There was no smell of blueberry flapjacks cooking, like there would be on an ordinary Saturday morning. The familiar sounds of Pa whistling as he the paper, or Mother singing as she did the morning laundry, weren't there. The house was silent and empty.

Granny Smith called the Ponyville police. When they arrived, Applejack opened the door. The three policeponies stood there, tall and intimidating in their dark, stiff uniforms.

"Is this the Apple residence?" the shortest one with a short mustache demanded in a gruff voice. Applejack nodded dumbly. "Please state the names and descriptions of the two missing ponies."

Applejack swallowed. "Um... my Mother is a tall orange mare with, uh – red hair and tail that she wears in braids. Her cutie mark is apple cinnamon twist bread. Her name is Apple Twist Apple. My Pa's name is Johnny Apple Seed Apple, and he's a yellow stallion with an orange mane and tail, with a apple seed cutie mark," she described. She longed to go into detail about every inch of both of her parents.

She pictured their faces. Mother would grin at her and flick one of her braids over her shoulder. "_I'm not orange, I'm melon,_" she would tell Applejack, grinning. Pa would tip his hat and switch the stalk of grass he was chewing from the right side of his mouth to the left.

Had they gotten lost? Were they trapped somewhere? Or perhaps they were hurt badly, and didn't have the strength to go on? They couldn't be dead, could they? That would just be too cruel. They must still be alive.

_Everything is going to be fine, _Applejack thought. _I'm just overreacting. Tomorrow I think back to now and laugh about how silly I was._

The policepony spouted a thank you, and then he and the two other police marched away. Applejack shut the door, still feeling the same numbness from yesterday. She didn't feel worried, sad, angry, or happy in anyway. She didn't know what she was feel like.

An hour later, the policeponies returned. They had found two bodies matching the descriptions, crushed by a tree that had fallen because of the force of the storm. Granny Smith went out to confirm that the bodies were Mother and Pa. She came back into the house with tears in her eyes.

Applejack just couldn't believe her. Mother and Pa were dead, gone. She would never ever see them again. She would never be able to apologize for taking the silver locket. She would never be able to tell them how much she loved them, and how much she wanted their love in return. She was an orphan.

Applejack shut herself up in her room, and hid under the bed. She hugged her alicorn doll Topaz to her chest, feeling terribly sorry for herself. What had she done to deserve it? What had her _parents _done to deserve it? Was it because she had destroyed Apple Bloom's doll, or because she had lost the locket?

She wanted something, someone to blame. Maybe it was the Pegasai's fault for allowing the thunder storm to happen. Maybe it was the fireponies' fault for not helping in time. Maybe it was the tree's fault for falling on her parents. Maybe it was her fault because she somehow could have prevented it from happening. I had to be somepony's fault!

Applejack cried so much that she thought her eyes might dry up. She cried until her pillow was soaked, her eyes were sore, and she had used up all the tissues. As soon as she would stop crying, she would remember that Mother and Pa were gone forever, and there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

It was a week after Applejack's birthday. She was sitting on a fallen tree, possibly the very one that had killed her parents, looking over the wasteland of ash, soot, and blackened skeletal trees. She felt numb. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her nose was still running, but the tears refused to come anymore, it seemed.

Applejack heard someone calling her name in distance. At first, she thought she was just imagining it, but then she recognized the voice as Big Mac's. She turned to see the red colt racing towards her.

"Applejack! Ya'll come back tah the house!" he called as he advanced. "Granny Smith wants tah talk tah us!"

Applejack got up quickly, glad of something to distract her from her bottomless despair. As she ran towards Mac, her every bone in her body ached. Perhaps it was because she had hardly moved throughout the last few days, and her muscles longed for motion. Or maybe because the pain in her mind was slowly seeping into the rest of her body.

When she reached the house, Big Mac and Apple Bloom were already sitting on the floor beside Pa's armchair, where Granny Smith was sitting, with three articles in her lap: Pa's yoke, his old hat, and Mother's pink hair bow.

"There ya are, Applejack," Granny Smith greeted. She smiled at her three grandchildren, looking each of them in the eye. "Now that yer Mama n' Papa have passed away, I've taken it upon myself tah raise ya'll up tah be fine young foals!" Granny's statement was light, but there was deep emotion in her voice. "If we're gonna support this family, we gotta work hard to git this farm runnin', ya hear?!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Applejack and Big Mac replied in unison. Apple Bloom blew a bubble.

Granny Smith looked tenderly down at the yoke, the hat, and the bow. "These were some o' the things that yer parents prized the most. Johnny's yoke helped 'em do all the work around the farm. I pass it down tah ya, MacIntosh, in the hopes that ya'll become as good a worker as yer father!" Granny rasped, handing the heavy hide-covered yoke to Big Mac.

Mac ran his hoof over the soft, firm surface of the padding around the neck, and the rusted metal hooks that attached to a wagon's reigns. He slipped it over his head, the yoke hanging loosely around his neck, his face determined.

Granny Smith turned to Applejack. "This here is Johnny's own hat. Nothing like a good, well-made straw sun hat on a hot day o' farm work. I pass it down to you, Applejack, and I hope it serves its purpose well." Granny placed the weathered hate down gingerly atop Applejack's head. A little big, the hat fell over Applejack's eyes. But it felt right atop her head, like an extension of her body.

As Granny bestowed the pink bow upon Apple Bloom, Applejack ran into her room to check her reflection. She looked great! The hat balanced out the feminine and the masculine features of Applejack's body perfectly. But there was one thing missing... Applejack fetched a red hair band out of a dresser drawer, and tied her mane back in a lose ponytail. She smiled. Staring into the mirror, admiring herself, she knew that this was who she was meant to be.

Applejack would never let anything happen to their farm, ever. If she had to brave lightning storms, fires, pests, heat, cold, weather, even lost silver lockets, she would do it, for Sweet Apple Acres. She would do it for her parents, knowing that they were smiling down on her.

Applejack scurried back into the sitting room. Mac had ran out into the barnyard, no doubt to start trying out Pa's yoke. Granny Smith was tying Mother's hair bow into Apple Bloom's mane. Apple Bloom tugged at the bow obliviously, sucking on her hoof. She reached for Apple Bloom's Topaz doll where it sat out of reach on the mantelpiece, whining in frustration.

Applejack fetched the doll down, and handed it to her little sister. Apple Bloom giggled with glee and bounded away, carrying the doll. Applejack smiled, staring after her. She could never be angry with her little sister.

Granny Smith sighed, slouching back in Pa's armchair. "We're a broke fam'ly now, Lil' Jack. What we gonna do?" she asked, looking tired. "I just dunno what tah do."

Applejack shook her head. "Yeah, we're broken, but we're still a family! And we gotta take care o' our family, no matter what," she whinnied, looking out through the window. She saw Big Mac pulling a wagon of apples out of the barn. He was struggling against the weight, but still determined to pull the wagon. He looked a lot like Pa, the yoke around his neck, a piece of straw sticking out of his mouth. Applejack knew that one day he'd be huge and muscular, just like Pa.

Grabbing her coat, she pushed through the door and towards the apple orchard. "Time to get to work!" Applejack cried, a huge smile in her face and also on her heart.

* * *

**So I totally failed trying to spell out the Apple family's accents. I'm not exactly sure what variation of coutry they are, so I did my best. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story, and please review!**

**~Jez D. W.**


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